SNN112300 - Land adjacent to No 9 Sulehay Road, Yarwell, Northamptonshire: Scheme of Archaeological Mitigation

A programme of archaeological mitigation was undertaken on land adjacent to no.9, Sulehay Road, Yarwell, Northamptonshire. The development site is situated on the western edge of the village of Yarwell. A Roman villa of considerable size has been discovered to the north-west of the Yarwell crossroads, with finds from the site including pottery, tile, plaster and a stone capital. Archaeological monitoring on land to the immediate west of the proposed development area in 2003 recorded no significant archaeological activity. However, as the groundworks in this area did not penetrate the topsoil, the presence of archaeological remains in this area could not be ascertained. This project follows on from an archaeological evaluation already carried out on the site. Three trenches were excavated, encountering a substantial, but undated, ditch in Trench 3; the other two trenches showed disturbance from previous construction. The mitigation encountered the archaeological remains identified in the evaluation, with no further features being identified. All features were sealed below a layer that appeared to be made ground. The linear ditch contained animal bone and an iron artefact, as well as a tiny sherd of late Iron Age or Early Roman pottery. It is unclear what this feature would have been used for.